Theft of gasoline, diesel fuel, and/or other vehicular fuels represents a substantial loss to cargo carriers in many parts of the world. Notably, in many developing countries, fuel represents an easily sold commodity that cannot be traced and which garners a high return in the black market. Thus, parked vehicles stand as undefended targets for fuel thieves. Even attended vehicles, though, can be at risk particularly if the driver is “on the make.”
Of course, the fuel contained in these vehicles can be accessed via the fuel fill cap (or simply “fuel cap”). A thief can remove the fuel cap, route a tube or hose through the adjoining fill tube, and siphon fuel from the tank. Moreover, vehicular fuel systems typically present a number of less conventional “entry points” through which a thief can access the fuel contained therein. More specifically, typical vehicular fuel systems include a fuel tank (sometimes with a drain fixture/feature), a fuel pump (often submerged, but sometimes external to the tank), a fuel filter, various valves, a recirculation line, test ports, flow rate sensors, and/or a connection to a carburetor (in older vehicles), or the fuel injectors (in most late model vehicles), and/or a fuel “rail” which feeds the fuel injectors. That list, by the way, is not exclusive but serves to illustrate that each system component has at least one mechanical/fluid coupling that can be tampered with to access the fuel. Additionally, there might be some such fluid couplings between otherwise separate tubes, pipes, hoses, etc. which convey fuel through the vehicle. All of these couplings, components, etc. represent fuel system “entry points” and render the fuel therein subject to theft.
Such risks, moreover, do not exist with land-based vehicles alone. Rather the cars, trucks, lorries, vans, etc. which exist on the roads represent just one category of susceptible vehicle. Aircraft (for instance, helicopters, prop-driven planes, jet planes, etc.), marine vehicles (for instance, boats, hovercraft, tugboats, crane boats, etc.) and other categories of vehicles also stand at risk of fuel-theft. Aviation fuel (av-gas, jet A, mogas) which sells at a premium compared to even automobile gasoline, not to mention diesel represents a particularly “rich” target at unguarded airports, airfields, and the like. Of course, elevated prices and/or scarcity (whether local, regional, or otherwise) aggravate the threat.
Similar considerations apply to cargo which the trucks and/or other vehicles might be carrying. For instance, in poor areas, food, water, beverages, etc. might be highly prized and deemed worthy of attempted theft and/or other types of misappropriation. More valuable cargo such as consumer electronic devices might be sought after with less than ethical characters willing to steal these products from their employers, others, etc. And, of course, rarer merchandise such as gold, jewelry, money itself (conveyed in armored vehicles) could become targeted for theft. Furthermore, whole shipments need not be stolen for a shipper to suffer significant losses particularly if viewed over time. For instance, even legitimate customers of the shipper might be tempted to take advantage of the lack of security typically present when a truck arrives at their facility. In such situations, some persons might remove their legitimately ordered cargo and then proceed to take more cargo than they ordered or are otherwise entitled to take. In the alternative, or in addition, such persons might fraudulently claim that cargo was missing from a shipment when in fact it was present. And, of course, other scenarios too numerous to list here can give rise to discrepancies associated with cargo shipments. Such issues extend beyond emerging countries. According to the FBI, cargo theft has reached an epidemic portion averaging up to 30$ billion lost annually in just the United States of America.